Two year experience trap and 180 days driving

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

I’m seeing more references in job adverts to 180 days driving in addition to (or instead of) the two year experience requirement. However, there seem to be different variations:

  1. Minimum two years licence, and at least 180 days driving in the last two years
  2. Minimum 180 days driving time in the UK
  3. Must have driven as a Class 1 driver for the last 180 days
  4. Minimum two years licence, and must have driven Class 1 at least 180 days in the last 365

Does anyone know the origins of the 180 day rule, is it a recent thing or has everyone traditionally focused on the two year rule and this supplementary requirement has just floated around in the background? Moreover, is there a definitive correct understanding of what the rule actually is, or are the above variations all valid?

I can see the logic in 1, and 2 makes some sense as an alternative to the two year licence rule. However, what are 3 & 4 supposed to be?

If anyone has driven “…for the last 180 days” then they are in breach of driver hour regulations. What does this really mean in practice? What about different shift patterns and the ‘4 on 4 off’ workforce, for example? They may not meet the 180 in 365 requirement but they are full time professional drivers.

This is important to a part-timer like me. Now that I’m homing in on the magic two years, there suddenly seems to be another target I have to hit. I think 1 & 2 are achievable, but 4 looks to be beyond my reach in my situation, and 3 looks challenging (depending on the actual meaning).

2

What they might want, and what they get may well be different things…

They are listing their ideal candidate, and if they don’t find that, they degrade the criteria…
Basically they don’t ideally want a Newbie, or a driver who hardly even drives.

Whether they get their ideal candidate also depends on the package they are offering.

Newbies should apply or enquire about jobs where they don’t quite meet the criteria, as you never know…

3

I vaguely remember something about it being for a clients insurance. You can have a licence for 2 years but you never used it in anger since you passed so they ask for 180 of driving to show you can actually do it.